COLLINS' COUNTY GEOGRAPHIES. EDITED BY W. LAWSON, F.R.G.S. GEOGRAPHY OF HAMPSHIRE. ADAPTED TO THE NEW CODE. BY J. WALTON, Horfield, bristol. WITH FULL COLOURED MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

LONDON: WILLIAM COLLINS, SONS, & CO., BRIDEWELL PLACE, NEW BRIDGE STREET. PRICE TWO PENCE.

HAMPSHIRE

HAMPSHIRE, or HANTS, or, as it is called in legal documents, the County of Southampton, is one of the southern counties of England. Its southern shore is washed by the English Channel; and its position is about midway between eastern and western points of the south coast of England.

The county includes the Isle of Wight, the largest island on the southern coast of Great Britain.

THE MAINLAND OF HAMPSHIRE.

I. PHYSICAL FEATURES.

BOUNDARIES.- Hampshire is bounded on the north by Berkshire; on the south by the English Channel, Spithead, and the Solent; on the east by Surrey and Sussex; and on the west by Wiltshire and Dorsetshire.

Except in the south-west the border-line is not irregular, but only coincides with the natural features in the south, and for a short distance also in the north, where it is separated from Berkshire by the rivers Enborne and Blackwater, which belong to the basin of the Thames. Near Romsey the western boundary is suddenly turned to the west. It runs in that direction for 14 miles. Beyond Fordingbridge it again turns to the south, and reaches the coast between Bournemouth and Poole.

The form of the county nearly approaches a square, with a smaller rectangle attached to it in the south-west.

EXTENT.- The length, from north to south, varies from 37 miles in the east, to 46 miles in the west; the breadth, from east to west, is 28 miles in the north, and 41 miles in the south. The longest straight line which can be drawn in the county lies between the north-eastern and south-western extremities, and measures about 70 miles.

The total area, including the isle of Wight, is 1672 square miles, or more than 1,070,000 acres. [Excluding the isle of Wight, the area of Hampshire is 1519 square miles, or 972,000 acres.]

The most southerly points on the mainland are near Bournemouth and Hurst Castle, each in 50d 42m north latitude; the most northerly at Newtown, two miles south of Newbury, in Berkshire, in 51d 22m north latitude. The most westerly point is also on the English Channel, near Bournemouth, in 1d 54m west longitude; the most easterly is at Aldershot, in 0d 43m west longitude.

Hampshire ranks amongst the largest of English shires, and is only exceeded in size by six others, namely York, Lincoln, Devon, Norfolk, Northumberland, and Lancashire.

The area is about one thirty-fifth of England and Wales, and nearly one-seventieth of the United Kingdom.

COAST.- The coast-line runs in a general direction from east to west; and, without reckoning the various harbours, measures about 54 miles.

Capes.- Gilkicker point, near Gosport; Calshot Castle point, at the entrance to Southampton Water; Hurst Castle Point, at the mouth of the Solent; and Hengistbury Head, at the western end of Christchurch Bay.

Parts of the Sea.- The Solent, Spithead, Chichester, Langston, and Portsmouth harbours, and Christchurch and Poole Bays. Towards the east the shore is low, and is indented by the large bay, which is divided into three harbours, Chichester, Langston, and Portsmouth, by Hayling and Portsea Islands.

Chichester Harbour belongs principally to the county of Sussex.

Langston harbour is about 30 feet deep; but its entrance is narrow, and obstructed by a 'bar,' or sand bank.

Portsmouth harbour contains about nine square miles. The entrance does not exceed one-eighth of a mile in width; but there is sufficient depth of water, both here and in the basin of the harbour, to float the largest ships of war, even at low tide. From the western side of the mouth of the harbour a sand-bank, called the Spit, extends for three miles to the south-east. Beyond it, and sheltered by the Isle of Wight, is the famous roadstead of Spithead.

The Solent lies to the westward of Spithead, and has a length of about seven miles. Its northern shore is generally low, and is terminated towards the west by the long bar of shingle upon which Hurst Castle is built. This bar forms a natural breakwater, which is of great service.

Southampton Water is the common estuary of the rivers test and Itchen, which unite at Southampton. The harbour runs thence for seven miles to the south-east, with a depth varying from two to six fathoms. Its mouthy, opposite Calshot Castle, varies in breadth with the tide, from half-a-mile to two miles.

Christchurch and Poole Bays are separated by the small bold promontory of Hengistbury Head, and are bordered on the north by lofty cliffs, formed of London clay. The headland is of ironstone, and is the only rocky mass on the coast between Lymington and Poole. In these bays the tide rises four times every day.

Islands.- Besides the Isle of Wight, the only important islands are Portsea and Hayling. Thorney Island, in Chichester Harbour, belongs to Sussex.

Portsea Island, the southern part of which is occupied by Portsmouth and the adjoining towns, is divided from the mainland by a narrow channel on the north. Its length is about 4 miles, its breadth 2 1/ miles, and its area nearly 5600 acres.

Hayling Island lies to the east of Langston Harbour, and the south of the town of Havant. It has an area of

more than 6600 acres. Its splendid beach of firm sand makes it the resort of sea-bathers.

Horney, Whaley, and Pewit are small islands in Portsmouth Harbour.

SURFACE.- Hampshire belongs to the great chalk district of the south of England, which occupies the greater part of Dorset, Wilts, and berkshire, and extends through this county to Sussex, and Kent. The whole shire rests on a bed of chalk, but this is only found on the surface in the central parts of the county. The geological formations of the north-eastern portion are later than the chalk, and the soil is mostly white plastic or London clay. This district is included in what is known as the 'London Basin.' Similar formations are found between the South Downs and the Solent, and constitute, with the Isle of Wight, the 'Hampshire Basin.' The eastern art of the county, near Alton and adjoining Sussex, belongs to the 'Weald' district, and in geological character is older than the chalk.

GEOLOGY.- The Chalk, which occupies so large a portion of Hampshire, is composed of lime and carbonic acid, and the purest appears to be almost wholly made of corals and shells. Flints are distributed in horizontal layers amongst the chalk strata, at irregular distances. These apparently are formed principally of sponges and other marine organisms, which have been impregnated with silex, and have then become solid. The most picturesque portion of the chalk region is in the north-east corner of hampshire. The central part of the county is nearly level. The Tertiary formations are only represented in England by the London and Hampshire basins. The former occupies the north-eastern portion of Hampshire and the whole of Surrey, north of the Downs. In this county, the plastic is more common than the London clay. The animal and other remains are numerous, and there are beds of oyster-shells, nearly resembling those which now exist. The 'Hampshire basin' is of a similar character to the 'London basin.' The cliffs from Christchurch to Lymington abound in fossils, consisting of teeth of sharks, bones of turtles, and a great variety of shells.

The Wealden formations underlie the chalk. They consist of a bed of stiff blue clay, containing layers of sand, shells, and limestone. They are of freshwater origin; and the district in which they occur is believed to have been the delta of a large river that flowed through a tropical country. The fossils which are contained are chiefly those of land plants and reptiles, and freshwater shells. By some powerful agency, the chalk has been in places removed, end these older formations laid bare. The Wealds of Surrey and Sussex (the latter terminating near Petersfield and Alton) have been formed by such a 'denudation;' and in the neighbourhood of Kingsclere there is a very interesting miniature valley of the Weald.

The surface, though nowhere rising into lofty mountains, presents a great variety. The chalk district in the centre has the appearance of an elevated plain, cut through by numerous brooks and rivulets. Wide expanses of heath and common stretch thence towards Southampton Water. North of the Downs, there are the extensive heaths and commons of Bagshot, Aldershot, Cove, and Farnborough.

Hills.- The chief ranges are the North Downs, South Downs, Alton Hills, and Portsdown.

The North Downs enter the county near farnborough, run in a westerly direction past Odiham, Basingstoke, and kingsclere, and extend throughout the whole breadth of the county. The width of the range is from two to three miles. The highest point is Siddown Hill, 943 feet high, the loftiest ground in Hampshire. It is included in Highclere park [The seat of the Earl of Carnarvon], and is clothed with woods to its summit. Beacon Hill (900 feet) and Ladle Hill in the immediate neighbourhood, have remains of Roman camps.

The South Downs run parallel to the North Downs, at about ten miles to the south. They have a breadth of about 4 miles. Butser Hill (917 feet), the highest of these, is sometimes considered to form the western termination of the South Downs; the high ground to the west being regarded as part of the great mass of

chalk which stretches over Hampshire, Wilts, and Dorset. Westward from Butser rises Old Winchester Hill, on which are the remains of what is believed to have been a summer camp of the Roman army. Still further to the west, Beacon Hill commands one of the finest prospects in the county.

In the north-west, near Andover and Stockbridge, are Quarley Mount, Cholderton Down, Bury Hill, and Danesbury Hill, all of which have traces of ancient fortifications.

The Alton Hills run from north to south at a distance of seven or eight miles from the eastern border. They approach the North Downs near Odiham, and the South Downs near Petersfield. They are not of great elevation; but some of them are very steep, and, from the overhanging woods on their sides, are called 'Hangers.' The best known of the hills are the Hawkley and Selborne Hangers, and the Nore Hill, all near Selborne.

Portsdown Hill (447 feet high) is a detached chalk mound, extending for about seven miles between Fareham and Havant, along the shores of Portsmouth and Langston Harbours. On the highest point of the hill is a pyramid erected to the memory of Lord Nelson, by those who fought under him at Trafalgar. The monument serves as a landmark for ships entering the harbour.

RIVERS.- The whole of Hampshire, except a small portion in the north, which belongs to the basin of the Thames, is drained into the English Channel. The rivers, though numerous, are small and commercially unimportant. These are the Rother, Titchfield, Hamble, Itchen, Test, Beaulieu, Boldre, Avon, Stour, Wey, Enborne, and Loddon.

The Rother is the most important tributary of the Arun. Its sources are on the Alton Hills and on the northern slope of the South Downs. Its course is easterly. It flows past Midhurst, and joins the parent stream to the south-east of Petworth, in Sussex.

The Titchfield, or Aire (20 miles long), rises on Butser

Hill, and flows round Old Winchester Hill. It then runs to the south-west into the Solent.

The Hamble, though but 11 miles in length, has a tidal estuary of about 6 miles.

The Itchen (20 miles long) is formed by several streams which unite in the neighbourhood of Alresford. Its course is westerly as far as Winchester, and thence southerly to Southampton.

The Test, or Anton (35 miles long), is the longest river of Hampshire. It flows generally towards the south, passing Stockbridge and Romsey, and unites with the Itchen at Southampton. Above that town its estuary is about 4 miles in length.

The Titchfield, Hamble, Itchen and Test, discharge into Southampton Water.

The Beaulieu, or Exe (10 miles), and the Boldre, or Lymington River (14 miles long), flow through the eastern part of the New Forest into the Solent.

The Avon (called the Salisbury, Christchurch, or Lower Avon) has a total length of 70 miles, of which about 20 are in Hampshire. It rises on the Marlborough Downs, in Wiltshire, and flows through the chalk district in a southerly direction. Ir passes Salisbury, and enters the county at Hale, a few miles north of Fordingbridge. Near its mouth, at Christchurch, it is joined by the Stour. This river has its source on the borders of Wilts and Dorset, and flows in a south-easterly direction through the latter county. Its course in Hampshire is not more than six miles in length.

The Wey flows from the Alton Hills towards the north-east. It passes through Surrey, and joins the Thames near Chertsey.

The Enborne (18 miles long) has its source on Inkpen Beacon, and forms the boundary between the county and Berkshire before it falls into the Kennet, a tributary of the Thames.

The Loddon and its affluents, the Whitewater and Blackwater, flow from the North Downs in a northerly direction. The Loddon passes through Berkshire, and falls into the Thames.

FORESTS.- Hampshire contains the largest forests in

England; but some of the districts which receive the name are rather extensive wastes than woodlands. The chief are the New Forest, Bere Forest, Woolmer Forest, Alice Holt Forest, Waltham Chase, and Harewood Forest.

The New Forest (64,000 acres) occupies nearly the whole of the south-western portion of the county. It was anciently still more extensive. The present name was given during the reign of William I., but there is reason to believe that the forest is much more ancient. The principal trees are oak, beech, and holly, but there are also hazel, birch, willow, alder, ash, and wild cherry. The oaks seldom rise into lofty stems, but their twisted branches make the wood suitable for what are called 'knees' and 'elbows' by shipbuilders. There are no deer in the forest, but herds of wild pigs and forest ponies are common. Besides the wild pigs, large numbers of swine are driven into the woods in September and October to fatten on the acorns and beech-mast. The forest is under the care of a Lord warden, and is divided into nine bailiwicks and fifteen walks.

The Forest of Bere (11,000 acres) lies between Portsdown Hill and the South Downs. It was once a royal hunting-ground, but is now enclosed. The district is comparatively level, and a great part has been cleared and cultivated.

Woolmer Forest (6,000 acres) is in the north-east, on the borders of Sussex and Surrey. It was formerly a waste of fern and heather, but is now cultivated. The forest appears to have derived its name from Wool-mere, a small lake (one mile and a half in circumference), which is within the district, as are also Hog-mere and Cran-mere.

Alice Holt (2,750 acres) lies a short distance to the northward of Woolmer. Unlike it, however, it has always been thickly wooded; but large patches have, of late years, been cleared for cultivation.

Waltham Chase (2,000 acres) is now a rough common, lying to the south-east of Bishops Waltham.

Harewood Forest (2,000 acres) formerly occupied the

slopes of many of the hills in the neighbourhood of Andover, and the woodlands are still considerable.
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II.- INDUSTRIAL PURSUITS, ETC.

POPULATION.- The total population of the county in 1871 was 544,684, showing an increase during the previous ten years of 62,000, or about 13 per cent. Since 1801 the population has increased by more than 325,000. The average number of inhabitants to each square mile is 325. [In 1871, England and Wales had together 22,704,000 inhabitants, equal to an average of 389 to the square mile.]

AGRICULTURE.- Nearly two-thirds of the land is under cultivation. Of this more thana 260,000 acres are under corn crops; 100,000 acres under clover and artificial grass; 130,000 under other green crops, and 120,000 in permanent pasture. The Downs also afford pasturage for sheep. The stock of cattle is estimated at 50,000; and of sheep, over 600,000. Hogs are also very numerous in the forest districts, especially near Lyndhurst. The principal agricultural productions are wheat, barley, rye, oats, pees, trefoil, grass, hops, sheep, wool, hogs, bacon, fruit and honey.

The hops are largely grown between Alton and Farnborough. Orchards are extensive between the South Downs and the sea.

MANUFACTURES.- These are of slight importance. The manufacturing towns are:-

Alton - paper, silk, serge, drugget and woollens.

Andover - leather.

Bishop's Waltham - leather.

Christchurch - watch and clock fusee chains and hooks.

Fareham - coarse pottery and leather.

Fordingbridge - flax, sailcloth, canvas and leather.

Lymington - common and medicinal salt.

Ringwood - knitted stockings and gloves.

Romsey - leather, flax and paper.

Whitchurch - silk.

Bank note paper is made at Freefolk Manor, near Whitchurch. The manufacture of salt, which has greatly declined, is still carried on to some extent along the coast.

There are important ship-building yards at Portsmouth and Southampton.

TRADE.- The great seats of trade are Southampton and Portsmouth; and Emsworth, Havant, Fareham, Hamble, Redbridge, Lymington and Christchurch are ports of less consequence.

Southampton is a port of great antiquity, but from various causes it had become, at the commencement of the present century, a place of little importance. Since the completion of the London and South-Western Railway, and the formation of the docks, its population has increased from 8000 to 54,000. It is a great packet-station, and passengers embark here for the Channel Islands, France, the Mediterranean, the Cape of Good Hope, the East and West indies, North and South America, China and Australia. The principal imports are corn and provisions from Ireland, timber from America and the baltic, wine and brandy from Spain, Portugal and France, and coal from the North of England. The docks are extensive and commodious, and are accessible to steamers of 2000 tons at all times.

Portsmouth, including Portsea and Gosport, is the chief naval port of Great Britain. The Government dockyard was founded by Henry VII.; and in it the largest ship of the first royal navy, Henry Grace a Dieu, was built for Henry VIII. It contains stores of every requisite for the navy - factories of ropes, sails and blocks, copper foundry, iron-works, saw-mills, ship-building stocks, graving docks, etc. At Gosport is the Royal Clarence Victualling-yard. It contains vast storehouses of all kinds of provisions, and immense granaries, bakery and brewery. The imports of Portsmouth are coal from the North of England, cattle and sheep from the Isle of Wight and the West of England, corn and provisions from Ireland, eggs from France, timber from the Baltic, and wine from Spain, Portugal, and France.

RAILWAYS.- The London and South-Western; the London, Brighton and South Coast; and the Great Western.

The London and South-Western Railway Company has five important sections traversing this county.

I. A trunk-line enters the county in the north-east, passes Basingstoke to Winchester and Southampton, and is then continued through the New Forest, past Ringwood to Dorsetshire.

This line has branches to Lymington, Bournemouth, and Netley.

II. A second section proceeds from the former at Basingstoke, through Andover, to Salisbury.

This section has a branch from Andover, through Romsey, to Southampton.

III. A third line passes from Guildford, through Alton and Alresford, to Winchester.

IV. A direct line to Portsmouth leaves the main line at Woking, and passes through Petersfield to Havant.

V. The fifth section traverses the southern part of the county, and passes from Southampton to Romsey and Salisbury.

The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway is connected with the London and South-Western Railway by a branch from Fareham, and passes from Portsmouth to Hayling, and thence into Sussex.

The Great Western Railway is also connected with the London and South-Western Railway (Section I.) by the Reading and Basingstoke, and the Reading and Guildford branches, the latter of which runs along the north-eastern boundary.

CANALS.- The Southampton and Winchester Canal; the Andover Canal; the Arundel Canal; and the Basingstoke Canal.

The Southampton and Winchester, or the Itchen Canal, is one of the most ancient in the kingdom. It was constructed in the reign of King john, and originally was continued to Alresford, but the navigation now ceases at Winchester. The canal follows the course of the Itchen, but does not coincide with the bed of the river.

The Andover canal (22 1/2 miles long) commences at Andover, and follows the Test River to the head of its estuary. It has a branch called the Salisbury and Southampton Canal, from Salisbury, which joins it about 9 miles above its mouth.

The Arundel Canal connects Portsmouth with the navigation of the Thames. It crosses Portsea Island, and passes Chichester, in Sussex, to Arundel.

The Basingstoke Canal (27 miles long) commences at Basingstoke; passes, near Odiham, through a tunnel a mile long; crosses the Loddon, and is continued to meet the Wey near its junction with the Thames.
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III.- TOPOGRAPHICAL DETAILS.

DIVISIONS.- Parliamentary.- For the purposes of parliamentary representation the county is divided into North and South Hampshire, by an irregular line, which in the west is as far north as Stockbridge, and in the east as far south as the Forest of Bere.

Each division returns two members. The chief polling places are Winchester and Southampton.

Members are also elected by the following Boroughs: Winchester (2), Portsmouth (2), Southampton (2), Andover (1), Christchurch (1), Lymington (1), and Petersfield (1). [Previously to 1832, Hampshire, including the Isle of Wight, returned 26 members to the House of Commons. Two members were elected for the shire, and two each for Winchester, Southampton, Portsmouth, Andover, Lymington, Christchurch, Stockbridge, Whitchurch, Petersfield, Newport, Newtown, and Yarmouth. The first Reform Act deprived the county of 7 members, and the last (1867) of 3 more; thus leaving the total representation at 16 members.]

Hundreds, &c.- Hampshire was anciently divided into 39 hundreds, 11 liberties, and the three separate jurisdictions of Winchester, Southampton, and Portsmouth. There are 344 parishes, grouped into 26 Poor-law Unions; and 14 petty sessional divisions.

Ecclesiastical.- Hampshire forms an archdeaconry of the Bishopric of Winchester, in the province of Canterbury.

Judicial.- The county is in the Western Circuit of Her Majesty's Judges. The courts of assize and quarter-sessions for the shire are held at Winchester; and for the town and county of Southampton, in that town.

towns.- The County-town is the City of Winchester, which has a population of 16,336

The market-towns are, Portsmouth (population 113,000), Southampton (54,000), Christchurch (15,000), Alresford, Alton, Andover, Basingstoke, Bishop's Waltham, Fareham, Fordingbridge, Gosport, Havant, kingsclere, lymington, Lyndhurst, Odiham, Petersfield, Ringwood, Romsey, Stockbridge, and Whitchurch.

Winchester is 12 miles north by east of Southampton, is on the River Itchen, which here becomes navigable. The city chiefly occupies the eastern slope of a hill, on the right bank of the river. Its cathedral is one of the largest in England. The present building was commenced in 1079, and was erected on the foundations of an ancient Saxon church. It owes much of its beauty to William of Wykeham, who held the bishopric from 1366 to 1404, and who founded the College, which

now ranks as one of the great public schools of the country.

Winchester is a very ancient city. The settlement which existed here in the time of the ancient Britons was called Caer Gwent. The Romans called the place Venta Belgarum. under the Saxons, the town became the capital of Wessex; and after the dissolution of the heptarchy, of all England. The city attained its highest prosperity under Henry I., and its trade rivalled that of London. But from 1265, when it was sacked by the younger De Montfort, its trade gradually declined, though it partly revived in the fourteenth century, when, for thirty years, Winchester was one of the staple towns for wool.

Portsmouth, which includes also Portsea, Southsea, Landport, and Kingston, occupies the south-western portion of Portsea Island, and lies 6 miles south-west of London in a direct line. It is the greatest naval arsenal, and strongest fortress in England. Its history is closely connected with the wars, and especially the naval wars, in which the country has been engaged. in 1545, the English fleet, whilst assembled here, was attacked by the French. The fortifications were subsequently greatly strengthened. The Duke of Buckingham was assassinated in the High Street by Felton, in 1628, when on the point of setting out to the assistance of the Huguenots at Rochelle. In the harbour Admiral Byng was shot, for alleged neglect of duty, in 1757; and here, in 1782, the Royal George, the largest ship in the navy, sunk with, Admiral Kempenfelt and about a thousand men, women, and children. Lord nelson's flag-ship, the Victory, in which England's greatest admiral met his death at Trafalgar in 1805, lies in the harbour.

Southampton occupies a peninsular between the mouths of the rivers Test and Itchen, at the head of Southampton Water. It was a place of some note under the Saxons and Danes; but its importance was largely increased after the Norman conquest. Its situation made it the most convenient port at which to embark for France; and for several years its trade with the Conti-

nent, especially with Venice and Spain, was very great. It was ravaged by the plague in 1665, and did not recover its prosperity till the present century. The town was incorporated in the reign of henry I., and its charter was confirmed by Richard I. and John. Its privileges were extended by Henry VI., who constituted the town and surrounding district a county of itself.

Christchurch, 24 miles south-west of Southampton, stands at the junction of the Avon and Stour. It has a large manufactory, employing 500 persons, of fusee-chains for watches. The town, which was anciently called Twyneham, derives its present name from a monkish legend, which asserts that the builders of the ancient church were supernaturally assisted by the saviour. The pleasant and sheltered watering-place, Bournemouth, lies about five miles to the west.

Lymington, 20 miles south-west of Southampton, was formerly a port of some consequence, but its trade has greatly declined. Its salt manufactures, which date from the time of Henry I., are much less extensive than formerly. Population, 2474.

Lyndhurst, 8 miles north of Lymington, is in the centre of the New Forest, and contains the official residence of the Lord-Warden, in which the forest courts are held. Beaulieu Abbey is about 7 miles south-east. It was the only abbey founded by King John, and enjoyed the privilege of sanctuary. Queen Margaret, wife of Henry VI., took refuge here in 1471, and Perkin Warbeck in 1496.

Romsey, 7 miles north-west of Southampton, is in the centre of a rich agricultural district. Its great distinction arises from its abbey, which was one of the richest in England. It appears to have been founded by Edward the Elder, but was enlarged and enriched by his grandson, King Edgar. In the neighbourhood of the town are Broadlands, the seat of the late Lord Palmerston, and Embley Park, the home of Florence Nightingale. population, 2000.

Andover, 13 miles north-west of Winchester, is in a district which abounds with remains of ancient camps, of which the principal are on Bury, Quarley, and

Danebury Hills. The Saxon Witan, or Parliament, met here on several occasions; and in 998, King Ethelred here concluded a treaty with Olaf of Norway.

Basingstoke, 19 miles north-east of Winchester, was anciently a parliamentary borough, but ceased to exercise electoral privileges in the reign of Edward III. The town is a meeting place of four railways and five important roads, and has considerable trade in coal, malt, corn, and timber. Basing House, which underwent a two-years' siege during the great Civil War, lays about two miles north-east. Population, 5574.

Silchester, 7 miles north of Basingstoke, contains traces of one of the most important Roman towns in the south of England. Stratfieldsaye, a short distance to the east, was purchased by the nation, and presented to the Duke of Wellington in 1815.

Odiham, 7 miles east of Basingstoke, is in a woodland district at the edge of the chalk downs. It has some trade in chalk, timber, and coals. Its castle, of which there are slight remains, sustained a siege of fifteen days by the army of the Dauphin of France in 1216;

and was the residence of david, King of Scotland, for eleven years, after the battle of Neville's Cross (1346).

Aldershot, 3 1/2 miles north-east of Farnham, is the great camp of the British army. The soldiers' quarters are chiefly wood huts, in parallel lines, but barracks of stone were erected at great expense in 1857.

Alton, 17 miles north-east of Winchester, is pleasantly situated on the River Wey, in the midst of extensive hop-plantations. The most important historical event connected with the town is the defeat, in 1643, of the Royal forces under Colonel Bowles, by the parliamentary forces under Sir William Waller.

Bishop's Waltham, 10 miles south by east of Winchester, was formerly the residence of the bishops of the diocese; and here the famous William of Wykeham died in 1404, at the age of 80. Henry II. held a great council in the palace in 1182, when supplies were granted him for his projected Crusade.

Fareham, 9 miles north-west of Portsmouth, has important earthenware manufactures and considerable shipping trade. At Titchfield, two miles westward, Charles I. was taken prisoner by Colonel Hammond, governor of the Isle of Wight. Population, 7000.

Gosport is built on a peninsula between two inlets of Portsmouth harbour, and opposite the town of Portsmouth. Its name (God's port) was given to it in 1158 by Henry de Blois, Bishop of Winchester, who put into the harbour for shelter from a storm. The town is fortified. Haslar Hospital, with accommodation for two thousand sick or wounded seamen, is about a mile to the south-east of the town. Population, 7366.

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[Isle of Wight]
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HISTORICAL NOTICES

During the British period hampshire was occupied by the Belgae and Segontiaci. The chief town of the former tribe was Caer Gwent (Winchester), and of the latter Calleva (Silchester). These tribes were subdued by the Romans under Vespasian, and their cities were enlarged and fortified. The county was included in the Roman province of Britannia Prima.

After the departure of the Romans, no event of interest occurred until the invasion by the saxons

under Cerdic, and his son Kenric. These landed in 495, and were immediately attacked by the Britons. The invaders were subsequently strengthened by the arrival of fresh bands, under Porte [It is probable that Porte gave his name to Portsmouth, and Portsea.] and other chiefs. A great battle was fought in 508 somewhere between Southampton Water and the Solent, in which Natanleod, the British leader, and five thousand of his followers perished. The natives were afterwards assisted by the famous King Arthur. [A table, of great antiquity, is preserved in the County Court of Winchester as the celebrated Round Table of King Arthur. It is right to say, however, that the whole history of this famous hero is somewhat mythical.] Cerdic, however, succeeded in establishing the Kingdom of Wessex, which comprised most of the south-western counties of England, and had Winchester for its capital. Under Egbert, who began to reign in 799, Wessex became the most powerful kingdom of the Heptarchy; and, in 827, that monarch became the first sovereign of England.

Five years after Egbert had established his monarchy the Danes began to make serious inroads into his kingdom. He resisted them vigorously, and, in 835, defeated them in a great battle at Hengston Hill, in Cornwall. In 838, after the death of Egbert, they landed from a great fleet at Southampton, and from another at Portsmouth. Both bands were routed by the Saxons. The interruptions continued, however, and the Danes at last overran the whole country. Alfred, whose reign commenced in 871, had previously fought battels with them at Aston, in Berkshire, and at Basing (870). A new swarm came over in 876, under Gothrum and other leaders, and the country was, for a time, entirely subject to them. Alfred, himself, took refuge in the hut of a cowherd in the Isle of Athelney, in Somersetshire. He remained in concealment twelve months; and then, putting himself at the head of his countrymen, he was successful against the invaders in a battle at Ethandune, Wiltshire, in 878. The country afterwards enjoyed comparative peace until 1003,

when, in revenge for the massacre of the Danes by Ethelred in the preceding year, Sweyn invaded Wessex with a great army, sacked Winchester, drove the Saxon king into exile, and took possession of the country. He died in 1014, and was succeeded by his son Canute, who held Winchester as his capital.

After the conquest of England by the Normans in 1066, the New Forest district was afforested. William I. is charged with having been guilty of great cruelty in the formation of this forest; and it is stated that 'he resolved to make a new forest near Winchester, the usual place of his residence; and for that purpose he laid waste the country in Hampshire for an extent of thirty miles, expelled the inhabitants from their houses, seized their property, even demolished churches and convents, and made the sufferers no compensation for the injury.' [Hume's History of England] An examination of the Domesday Book, and other records of the time, shows that these accounts require to be received with considerable modification. It is probable that William I. did little more than bring the Saxon hunting-ground, which had previously existed, under the severe Norman forest laws.. By these laws, a person who killed a hart or stag was punished with the loss of his eyes; whilst, under the general law of the land, a man who had killed another might escape upon payment of a fine.

All the Norman princes were fond of hunting, and William the conqueror is said by the Saxon Chronicle to 'have loved the tall stags as if he were their father.' Two of his sons and a grandson lost their lives in the New Forest. The first was Richard, second son of the Conqueror; then another Richard, a son of Robert Curthose, both accidentally killed by arrow wounds. The third was William Rufus, who had succeeded his father on the throne. On the 2nd of August, 1100, this king, with a long train of nobles and attendants, rode into the forests on a hunting excursion. Late in the evening, the dead body of Rufus was found by a charcoal-burner, named Purkess, who ut it in his cart, and conveyed it to Winchester,

where it was buried without ceremony in the cathedral. How he met his death is not known. The common story is, that William and his friend, Sir walter Tyrell, were resting, towards sunset, in a thicket near Stony Cross, when a hart bounded by. Tyrell shot at it, the arrow glanced against a tree, [The position of the oak-tree, against which the arrow is believed to have struck, is marked by a triangular stone, with a suitable inscription. Rufus's stone, as it is called, is near Minstead, to the north of Lyndhurst.] and pierced the king's breast. The knight, it is said, finding the king dead, galloped to the coast, and sailed at once for the Holy land. Tyrell, however, asserted on oath afterwards, that he never saw the king on the day of his death; nor was he on that day in that part of the forest where the body was found.

Another rumour of the time pointed to Prince Henry, the brother of Rufus, as having has some hand in the murder. He was certainly in the forest at the time, and immediately on learning that his brother was dead, he hurried to Winchester and demanded the royal treasures. These had been entrusted to William de Breteuil, who defended them as the property of Robert, Duke of Normandy. Henry drew his sword and threatened Breteuil with instant death if he dared to disobey him. Other nobles joined in the quarrel, and eventually henry obtained the treasure, and at once set out for London, where he was proclaimed king three days after the death of William Rufus.

During the various French wars, several expeditions sailed from Southampton and portsmouth; and the french made several attempts to effect a landing upon the coasts of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The most serious of these attempts was made in 1377, immediately after the accession of Richard II. The whole of the southern coast of England was plundered. In August, the french troops ravaged the Isle of Wight: burnt Newport, Newtown, and Yarmouth: and laid seige to Carisbrook. This was successfully defended by Sir Hugh Tyrell, and the invaders were compelled to retire.

In 1415, when Henry V. was on the eve of embarking for France, at Southampton, he discovered a conspiracy to put him to death, and raise the Earl of March to the throne. Lord Scrope, Sir Thomas Grey, and Richard, Earl of Cambridge, were implicated in the plot. They were tried before an irregular tribunal, and were condemned and executed.

In the French war which occupied the latter part of the reign of Henry VIII., an attempt to invade England was made by way of Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. A fleet of one hundred and thirty-six vessels, under the command of Annebaut, was despatched from the mouth of the Seine, and anchored in St. Helen's Bay on the 18thy July, 1545. Lord Lisle, the English Admiral, lay in Portsmouth Harbour with sixty vessels. The French cannonaded him for two days, but he refused to come out. The king watched the action from the shore, and saw one of his finest vessels, the Mary Rose, capsized by accident, and sink with four hundred men. The French admiral directed a landing to be made on the Isle of Wight by three bodies of soldiers. These were, however, driven back by the islanders. Annebaut then sailed for Boulogne, whither Lisle, who had received a reinforcement of thirty vessels followed him. The fleets did not come to action, and the English soon returned to Spithead. The war was shortly afterward concluded by a treaty between Henry and Francis, the French king.

The county took a rather prominent part in the Civil war in the reign of Charles I. In 1644 the Parliamentary leader, Sir William Waller, encountered Lord Hopton, at the head of a Royalist army (March 29th), at Cheriton, near Alresford. The Roundheads gained a decisive victory, and Winchester fell at once into their hands. The loss on both sides was heavy, the numbers slain being 1400 Royalists and 900 Parliamentarians. This defeat was a serious blow to the royal cause in the West of England.

A more interesting event was the seige of Basing House, near Basingstoke. It was held for the king by John Paulet, Marquis of Winchester. It stood seige

after seige for four years, until it came to be called Basting House, in derision of the unsuccessful besiegers. The place had been provisioned with immense quantities of wheat, bacon, cheese, and beer; and as the garrison was frequently relieved, these supplies were often replenished. The fortress, at last, became so troublesome to the traders between London and the west, that Cromwell was despatched from Bristol to reduce it. This he succeeded in doing on the 14th October, 1645. The marquis was taken prisoner, and his house levelled to the ground.

Two years afterwards, Charles I. having escaped from Hampton Court, where he was detained by the Roundhead army in opposition to the Parliament, took refuge for a time at Titchfield House, the seat of the Earl of Southampton. He was removed thence to Carisbrook castle, by Colonel Hammond, the Governor of the Isle of Wight. He was first treated with every demonstration of loyalty and respect; and was allowed to visit his friends in the island, and to receive their visits in return. Fearing his escape, which he several times attempted, his liberty was curtailed; and his confinement became at last a close imprisonment. This continued for eight months. In September, 1648, Commissioners were appointed by the Parliament to treat with the king at Newport; but the treaty intended to have been prepared was not completed, when Charles was seized by Colonel Eure, in the name of the army, and conveyed to Hurst Castle (December 1). Here he remained a prisoner twenty-seven days; and was then removed to Windsor, and afterwards to Whitehall. His trial took place almost immediately, and he was executed on the 30th of January, 1649.